Wright should leave Senate if conviction stands, ethics chief says

With his attorney beside him, State Sen. Roderick Wright, right, is shown after learning that a jury found him guilty of fraud and perjury.

With his attorney beside him, State Sen. Roderick Wright, right, is shown after learning that a jury found him guilty of fraud and perjury. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Patrick McGreevy

SACRAMENTO -- State Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) should be removed from office if his felony convictions are upheld on appeal, according to Sen. Richard Roth (D-Riverside), chairman of the Senate’s ethics committee.

A jury on Tuesday found Wright guilty on eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud after prosecutors said he lied when he said he lived in the Senate district in which he ran for office.

“I certainly think that if the appellate process has been exausted and the verdict is upheld on appeal that his service in the Senate would undoubtedly need to terminate,” Roth said Wednesday. In that situation, if Wright does not resign, the Senate would have to expel him, Roth said.

The ethics chairman said the Senate leadership is not at that point yet but is weighing whether to wait for the appeals process to be exhausted before taking action.

“That’s one of the factors that is under consideration at this point,” Roth said. “The Senate leadership is evaluating the situation. I support the jury system, and there has been a verdict. There may or may not be an appeal. Once the appeal period has expired or the appelate process is exhausted we will have a final result.”

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) announced a shakeup of committee assignments Wednesday but left Wright in his positions, which include chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee.

Wright’s attorney has said an appeal is planned. At his sentencing, which is set for March, Wright could face more than eight years behind bars and be banned for life from holding other elective office.

State officials say a sitting Senator can be removed only by a two-thirds vote of the Senate or by a recall petitioned by Wright’s constituents.

The last time a senator was expelled was in 1905, when Sens. Harry Bunkers, E.J. Emmons, Frank French, and Eli Wright were expelled for “malfeasance in office,” according to Senate Secretary Greg Schmidt.

Wright is not returning to the Capitol this week, although Friday is the deadline for lawmakers to move bills out of their house of origin, said Stan DiOrio, a spokesman for the senator..

“He is in L.A. and may be coming up next week,” DiOrio said, describing Wright’s exact plans for returning as “not clear yet.”